NOT SO FAR FRONT HOME - HOW FAMILY CHARACTERISTICS PREDICT CHILD-CAREQUALITY

This study examined the relationship between family background and chi ld care quality for 636 children enrolled in 120 day care centres in t hree stat es in the US with widely varying regulations for child care centre quality. Family characteristics accounted for a substantial por tion of the variance in day care quality. Mothers' attitudes towards c hild-rearing and parents' education were the most potent family level predictors of quality. State child care policy variables were also str ong predictors of quality. Findings also suggest that the influence of environment on children's development cannot be partitioned simply in to family and out-of-home child care effects; rather, the child care e nvironment is an extension of the family environment, with parents det ermining characteristics of both.